Father of drowned teen urges secondary school swimming lessons

He said Sam was never a strong swimmer and he wished he had been given lessons as part of PE at secondary school.

“If he could have swam, who knows, it’s better to have these skills in place isn’t it?”

He said the closure of several swimming pools in the Rotherham area had made the problem worse, while many schools had lost their swimming facilities over the years.

The 54-year-old learned to swim at what is now Wingfield Academy in Rotherham, which used to have its own small pool.

Swimming and water safety lessons are currently only a compulsory part of the curriculum in primary school – either in key stages 1 or 2, but free schools and academies are not required to follow the national curriculum.

There is currently no requirement for swimming to be taught or included as a sport in PE lessons at secondary schools.

“I don’t think six half-hour sessions is anywhere near sufficient,” Mr Haycock said.

“They really are putting all our youth groups in a dangerous situation.”